Erin Zimmer's 15 Favorite Vegan Meals and Snacks in NYC

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What's it like for a flexitarian eater to go vegan for a month? Sometimes rather complicated. "Does this contain eggs or butter?" is a question I found myself asking all the time. Many of my usual go-to dishes were suddenly off-limits. Adios eggy breakfasts. Toodle-oo, yogurt. Quite a bit of Asian food, even the vegetable sides, weren't allowed either, because of the fish sauce and pork fat laced in there.

I was only vegan for a month. February—the shortest month of the year—at that. Not long enough to comprehensively explore the many vegan options in this city, but long enough to befriend some new favorites that I otherwise might have scanned past on a menu before.

My goal was to find dishes that weren't just the predictable faux meats or cheeseless pastas. There are plenty of more exciting, satisfying, not-just-beige-hued vegan foods out there if you know where to look.

Here are 15 highlights from my monthlong vegan adventure in the slideshow above and listed below.

I've been part of the Serious Eats family since 2008. I wore the hat of national managing editor until 2013. Originally a Californian then a Brooklynite and now a New Orleanian. You can find me at the crawfish boil.